Chapter 1: What historical efforts were made to reduce the risk of nuclear war?
Here's how President John F. Kennedy described the risk of nuclear war at the United Nations in 1961.
Every man, woman, and child lives under a nuclear sword of Damocles, hanging by the slenderest of threads, capable of being cut at any moment by accident or miscalculation or by madness.
Kennedy would kickstart a decades-long effort to reduce that risk. If the world was dangling by a thread, he began building what would eventually become a web of painstakingly negotiated treaties to stabilize global nuclear arsenals. The presidents who followed forged new agreements. From Nixon?
This joint statement that has been issued today may well be remembered.
Chapter 2: What recent developments have affected US-Russia nuclear treaties?
as the beginning of a new era.
To Reagan.
It was a simple proposal, one might say disarmingly simple. And to Obama. And this ceremony is a testament to the truth that old adversaries can forge new partnerships.
Today, that web is in tatters. Last week, the last bilateral nuclear treaty between Russia and the United States expired.
Chapter 3: How is President Trump's approach impacting global nuclear policies?
Meanwhile, President Trump is shaking up the nuclear status quo in other ways. The US has been pushing Europe to step up its own defense. Last March, Trump said he would not defend NATO countries that don't spend enough.
I think it's common sense, right? If they don't pay, I'm not going to defend them.
No, I'm not going to defend them. Now Europe has clearly taken notice. And in a speech Friday at the Munich Security Conference, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz said that in an era of great powers, Europe's freedom is no longer a given.
Chapter 4: What are the implications of the expired New Start treaty?
He said that he was in talks with the president of France about a European nuclear deterrent. Consider this. The world is increasingly unstable. Could that drive more countries towards nuclear arms? From NPR, I'm Elsa Chang. It's Consider This from NPR.
So my co-host Mary Louise Kelly has been in Munich this week reporting from that same conference where the German chancellor gave that speech that we just mentioned. And one of the many big issues that Mary Louise is covering is what to make of this moment in nuclear history. I'll let her pick up the story from here.
When I was a kid, back in the 80s, my school held emergency drills.
Chapter 5: How is China's nuclear arsenal evolving and what does it mean for global security?
Fire drills, tornado drills, nuclear drills. The plan for the latter was we were supposed to crouch under our classroom desks, arms crossed over our heads for protection. With the benefit of hindsight... Hiding under our desks probably would not have protected us much from an incoming nuclear warhead. Well, fast forward four decades, we seem to be in a new nuclear era.
Cold War is over, but the questions, how do we secure the nukes, whether to build more nukes, they're as live as ever. And those questions are on the minds of national security leaders gathering here in Munich among them. Christine Wormuth, former Army Secretary, now President and CEO of the Nuclear Threat Initiative. That's a nonpartisan group dedicated to reducing the nuclear threat.
Secretary Wormuth, great to see you.
Chapter 6: Can Europe still rely on the US nuclear umbrella in today's climate?
Welcome to Munich.
Thank you. It's great to be here. And I did those drills under my desk as well. Yeah, probably would not have done as much good. Definitely would not have helped us.
So to take stock of where we are at this moment, the last nuclear arms treaty between the United States and Russia just expired. Late last month, the Bulletin of Atomic Scientists, their doomsday clock was set to 85 seconds to midnight, the closest it has ever been in nearly eight decades of doing it.
Chapter 7: Are we facing a new nuclear arms race and what factors contribute to it?
How dangerous is the current moment?
The current moment is quite dangerous. We are now without any kind of a treaty putting limits on strategic nuclear weapons for the first time since 1972. China is rapidly building up its nuclear arsenal. They are expected to have a thousand nuclear weapons by 2030. So it's a pretty dangerous time, I think.
The treaty that just expired, New Start, it was known as, the Russians actually offered to extend it. Trump administration said, no, we want something better. And so it expired. Now we have nothing. Good idea? Missed opportunity? What do you think?
Well I think it was a bit of a missed opportunity but I'm heartened because as I understand it we were in Abu Dhabi with the Russians just recently talking to them about perhaps some sort of continued limits on our strategic nuke. So I hope that those talks continue because I think it would be very important to try to keep some limits at least in place even if it's not through a formal treaty.
But is any treaty that could be any kind of agreement toothless if China isn't in it?
No, it's not toothless. I think the idea of a three-way treaty is a bridge too far. I think, frankly, the Chinese want to establish parity with Russia and the United States. But I think the possibility of an agreement with Russia each country separately is something to potentially pursue.
What about the Europeans? Since we're standing here in Munich, in Germany, the buzz in Europe is all about figuring out how to navigate a world where they may not be able to rely on the US nuclear umbrella. Can Europe still rely on the US nuclear umbrella?
I think it's very important that the administration communicate clearly to the Europeans that they can rely on our nuclear umbrella because the last thing we need is what is called friendly proliferation. The last thing we want to see is a country like Poland or even Germany thinking about getting its own nuclear weapons. That's not going to be in the interests of the United States.
What about where does France fit in? They're currently... Sounds like you hope for forever that is the only country on the European continent with nuclear weapons.
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